Mercury-meter.



E. S. HALSEY. MERGURY METER. APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1908.

Patented Sept. I9, 1911.'

-3 SHEET8-SHBET 1.

. Invenbor: Edward 5. Halseg Atty.

\Nltnesses E. s. HALSEY. MERCURY METER.

' APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1908. 1,003,453,. Patented Sept. 19,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

, I H v v Witnesses: Ir'ivenborL W Edwards. Halsey Atty E. S. HALSEY.

MERGURY METER. APPLICATION IIltED APR. 22, 1908.

Patented Sept. 19,1911.

a SHEBTSBHEET a.

InVen tor: Edward Shalseg B3 Wi bnesses:

orrio:

EDEVARD S. HALSEY, 0F NAHANT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR IO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

IVlERCUEY--1 IETER.

roossiss,

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 19, 1911..

Application filctl April 22, 1908. Serial No. 428,631. I

and more perticlgilzurly' to that type elf e trio in; or where the armature revolves in a receptacle containing a conducting fluid such as memory, and has for its object on nnprovement in the construction of such meters.

in the meter art it is particularly desirable to construct nietcrs cheaply as pos ilole, since very nuiny are in use, and meters are frcquentl used where the consunniition of electrical orgy is so small that it would not pay to install an expensive meter for the measuring of such. a consuuqiition.

A ie: ture of my invention then, is the construction of a cheap meter by forming the retaining member, which holds the mercury and surrounds the revolving; srnmture, out of some magnetic substance which may torn": a pole-piece for the torqueproducing mugnets, nd will be cheap to make and simple and su ontiul in its construction.

Another feature of my invention is to pro duce u, largo torque in the iuetcmmnature, out: this i accomplish by producing as large a fiov current as possible within the region of the tield produced by the poles of the torqueprod ucin me gnct.

Another feature tdimy irn'ention is a construction which will hold the meteeormoture as constantly as possible in one position in the surrounding mercury, and I accomplish this by melting the meter-armature in a cup-shape, open at the top and rigidly fastened. to it shaft which bears upon :1 lower hearing which conlnincd in the retaining member, end has its hearing surface in close proximity to the jun. ire of the armature and the shaft. By tl form of construction, the armature will be held more constantly in place tson it. would be if it were fastened at zipproxinmtclythe center of the shaft, since, in' the latter case, owing to the liability of the sh-(ilit to bend from its normal position, there is more tendency for a movement. of the armature than if the armature is fastened near one end of the shaft.

Another featuremf my invention is the use of a cover for the mercm-y sllll'OlilullllQ, the armature, which will allow only a small portion of the mercurv to come in contact with the surrounding 'i'nosphere, and thus prevent oindntion, which may alter or increase the friction between the mercury and tho urnmture.

For n, :t'urther understanding oi? my invention retl t-irence may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- .l igure 1 shows o-l'ront. view of my meter, with a portion of the cover removed; Fig. 2 :1 Vertical section of my meter taken from the side; Fig. 3 is a top View of my meter with the registering train removed and portions of the meter suown in section; and Fig. st is St detail view on a large scale of a portion of my meter, showing the shipping device, 7

I here shown it back 1, to which may be attached a cover 2, in any suitable fashion, and n hollow ci uyshaped retaining member 3 made of :1 magnetic material with lugs for attaching it to the back 1, and with. other lugs for attaching it cover to it, and also a.

frame or supporting portions of the meter it nnd the interior of the cup-sluiped portion- (it-member 3, which space may be filled w th any conducting: llllltl, but I prefer the use of mercury, and in which space the meter oruiuture revolves, Cover 5 rests upon the top oi. member 3, and has suitable lugs, so that it may be fastened to member 3 by means of screws 6, or in any other way, and allows only the small surface of mercury in hole 9 made in the cover for the passage of the meter oft to be exposed to the air.

I have shown on armature T, made in the shape of a cup open at the top, that may be made of any conducting substance, and revolves in the mercur filling the space between members 3 and 5, and has a conducting ring 8 attached to its upper portion for increasing the eddy currents in it.

Rigidly attached to the armature is a meter shaft 9 which at its lower extremity rests upon a bearing 10, which may be c0nstructed in any desired manner and attached to the lower portion of member S and is in close proximity to the juncture of the armature and the shaft. I have shown a-cap 11 surrounding this hearing and screwed onto a suitable projection upon member 3. Shaft 9, by any suitable mechanism such as a Worm and gear wheel 12, drives the registering mechanism 14, which may be of any suitable type. The upper end of shaft 9 is supported by a bearing, which is supported by frame 13, which is fastened to suitable lugs 13 formed in member 3. Frame 13 I have also shown as supporting the registering train M.

Surrounding the meter shaft I have shown a weight 15 which is normally held in position by a distorted spring 16. This weight serves as a counterbalance against the upward thrust of the mercury upon the armature, and also serves as a shipping device for preventing the escape of the mercury when the meter. is being transported. I have shown a sleeve 17 inserted in the top of .Cover 5 and surroundingthe shaft and having an internal thread in which may be.

screwed weight 15 by means of a suitable PI'OJBClZlOIl which is formed upon its lower side. I have shown a gasket 18 so that when the weight is screwed down intothe sleeve the gasket will make a tight joint.

I have also shown a stuffing-box 18 at the topof weight 15.

I have shown permanent magnets 19 and 20, which are made in the form of a U, and have two sides of similar polarity bolted together by means of bolts 21, so as to. form a consequent pole. The other ends of these magnets are fastened to lugs 22 and 23 on member 3 by means of screws 24. The consequent poles are fastened to a magnetic member 25, which goes through a suitably formed hole in the top-of cover 5, and is in close proximity with a side of the meter armature and a portion of the bottom. This pole-piece is fastened to the consequent poles of the magnets in any way, such as by screws 26, and is fastened to cover v5 by means of screws 27, whereby it tends to support the permanent magnet.

I have shown two conductors 28 and 29, which are brought down through the .cover 5' into close proximity with the armature, one conductor 28 extending through memher 5, so as to make contact with the fluid surrounding the armature at the bottom of the armature, and the other conductor 29 comingin contact with the fluid surrounding the armature at a point slightly above the side of the armature. .These two conductors are arranged so that when current is passed through. them,*the-cu rrent will flow through-the meterarmature inastream in close operative relation with pole-piece 25 flowing across the bottom and along one and 35, which may be used in the wellknown way for connecting the circuit to be measured to the meter.

The operation of my meter will then be as follows: When current is caused to flow through the meter, it will pass through the portion of the armature between conductors 28 and 29, and will cause a torque to be developed in the armature, as it is affected by the permanent magnet. The armature will then revolve, but will be retarded in the well known fashion by eddy currents generated inv'it and its attached ring 8.

While I have described a certain form and construction in which my invention may be carried out, I do not limit myself to this form or construction, as many forms and constructions that do not depart from the scope of my invention, and which I seek to cover by the appended claims, will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

WVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s-

1. In a mercury meter, a magnet, a cup: shaped rotatable armature, amagnetie member surrounding the armature and forming one pole of the magnet, and a magnetic member forming the other pole of the mugnet extending within the armature in operative relation to a portion only of the side and the bottom of the a'rmature.

armature, a magnetic member surrounding the armature, and two v U-shaped magnets with two of their sides fastened together so as to form a consequent pole extending within the meter armature and their other two sides fastened to the magnetic member surrounding the exterior of the meter armature.

3. In a mercury meter, a cup-shaped armature, a magnetic member surrounding the armature and forming a magnetic pole, at second magnetic pole within the armature adjacent to one side only and a portion of the bottom, a current conductor in close relation to a portion of the top of the ar1nature, and a second conductor in close relation to the bottom of the armature adjacent to. the second magnetic pole causing the current to flow through the armature along a side and across the end of the second magnetic pole.. I

4. In a mercury meter, a cup-shaped armature, a magnet, a magnetic member surrounding the armature and forming one pole of the magnet Whose second pole extends within the armature in close relation to onc side-and a portion of the bottom, a current conductor in close relation to a portion of the top of the armature, and a 5. in a mereur; meter. i'nerenry. a magnetic cup-shaped retaining member. a eover theretor, a n'iagnetlc member extending theretln'migh, a rotatable eu 'i-shaped armature revoiving in the nierenrv between the retaining member manent U-shaped magnets having two of their similar poles tastened to the retaining meml and their other two poles fastened to the magnetie member extending through the rover in close relation with one side and a portion of the bottom of the armature, a eurrent eontluetor in elose relation to a portion of the top of the armature and a set-end eurrent (ftUltltlttOl in elose relation to a portion of the bottom ol' the armature causing the eurrent to flow through a side. of the meter arn'lature and a portion of its bottom influenced by the magnets.

(3. In a mercury meter, a rotatable eupshaped armatnreopen at the top. a magnetie retaining member surrounding the sides and bottom of the armature. a nonmagnet-ie eover therefor fitting \vithin tlna armature, a magnet having as one of its poles the retaining member. and having the other pole extending within the eover in operative relation to the armature.

T. In a ltltt'tttl) meter, a rotatable eupshaped armature open at the top. a shatt rigidly fastened to the armature. a magnetie retaining member forming one pole ot a magnet. surroutuling the armature and eontaii-iing a bearing tor the shat't in elose proximity to its juneture. with the armature.

H. In a mereur meter, a rotatable eupshaped armature open at the top, a shetlt,

and the eover, two per' rigidt fastened thereto, a magnetic retaining member surroumling the tll'lt'ltltltt and eontaining a bearing for the shatt in elo proximity to the juneture of the shaft and armature. and a magnet having asone pole. the retaining membe and having the other pole extending within the armature.

t). In a mereury meter, mereury. a magnetie retaining membersurroumling the armature a rotatable armature open at the top revolving in mercury .held by the retaining member. a cover for the retaining member extending within the armaturi and inelosing the mereury so as to only permit.

ot a small surtaee eontaet between the mereury and the surrounding air.

10. in a mercury meter, a rotatable eupshaped armature open at the top. a magnetie eup-shaped retaining member surrounding the same. a shaft rigidly attaehed to the armature and with its lower end bearing on a l *aring eontained by the re.- taining member and in elose proximity to the junrture ot' the shaft and armature. a eover tor the retaining member inelosing the armature so as to have a spare between the armature. the eove andthe retaining member. a lnagnetie member extending through the eover. mereurv tilting the spare, two U- sbaped magnets having t\ 'o of their similar poles atta hed t the retaining member and the other poles 'lastened to the magnetie member and t'orming a eonsequent pole eX- tending through the eover in operative relation to the. meterarmature and ttllltllteonduetors eausing eurrent to How through th armature.

In witness whereof. I have hereunto set my hand this tenth da v ol' April. 1908.

EDWARD H. HALHIGY.

Witnesses:

Jonx h'lealaxtrs, Jiz. (hLuna-zs A. liaaxaim. 

